


Surprise Me

by Lumelle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Barista Draco Malfoy, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Written on a Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 10:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10739607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: After the war, Draco ends up working in a wizarding coffee shop. Why such a thing even exist, he has no idea, but apparently it's a thing now.Then, Harry Potter shows up.





	Surprise Me

The problem with being on the losing side of the war was, things weren't that nice afterwards.

Oh, he was well aware things could have been much worse, knew that most people with the brand on their arm had been shipped to Azkaban with no return ticket. He was damn lucky to be free and have his parents still around. However, serving the Dark Lord didn't come without repercussions, even if his mother had probably saved Harry Potter's life. Most of the Malfoy wealth had gone to the various victims of the war as reparations, leaving them with little else than a big echoing manor and a tomorrow to look forward to.

It was fair, he supposed. Not even Draco was quite self-centred enough to think they should have gotten away without any consequences, nor was he going to claim they were the victims here. He could have been sitting in a cell, blabbing away without sense or soul, he was going to take being free and poor.

The bad thing, though, was needing a job. Him, Draco Malfoy. Needed a job. Or, well, he supposed he could have gone to Hogwarts, he hadn't exactly done a lot of studying in that last year, but frankly he didn't think that would have been safe. His father's name carried little weight anymore, was rather more likely to bring him poor treatment, and after everything he wasn't going to take his chances with the general student body. Maybe he would go back in a few years once things had settled down, but for now, he needed to make a living somehow. Except without a Hogwarts diploma or his father's network — now largely behind bars or on the run — there was very little he could hope to do.

Which was why he was working at a wizarding coffee shop. Why was that even a thing? Coffee shops were for Muggles, clearly, there was absolutely no reason for wizards to ape them like this, yet here he was standing behind a counter and forcing a hopefully not homicidal smile on his face as he welcomed people to Snapgargle's Coffeeterium. Which was not a word, mind you, but it wasn't like he could correct his boss.

Merlin, he hated his job.

As things were wont to go, he was fairly sure his job hated him in return with equal fervour. The coffee machines made a habit of spilling on him from places that he was fairly sure were not supposed to hold liquids in the first place, the cash register had snapped closed on his fingers twice in his first day there, and there were actual customers he had to interact with. Customers. Who he had to be polite to.

Since when was being honest a bad thing? That witch had not needed any extra whipped cream, she barely fit in her robe as it was. But no, apparently Draco was the bad one here for pointing that out. See if he cared if someone died of a heart attack in the middle of the coffee shop!

He was learning, though. He was learning to bite his tongue on any sharp comments, learning to handle coins and actually care about the change, even learning the mysterious nomenclature that seemed to be a mainstay in any coffee shop anywhere in the world. Why one type of beverage seemed to require more variations than the entire Hogwarts Potions curriculum, Draco had no idea, but apparently he was supposed to care now.

Of course, just as he was starting to settle into a comfortable hate-hate relationship with his job, Harry Potter decided to walk in.

Harry. Bloody. Potter. Was in his coffee shop, walking right up to the counter, and smiling.

"Ah, Draco."

"Potter." Okay, perhaps this time he didn't really bother tuning down the homicidal edge to his smile. "What can I get you today?"

"Coffee, please."

"Yes, that's kind of what we work with here." Draco leaned on the counter, lifting his eyebrows. "I need you to be a bit more precise, Potter."

Potter shrugged. "I don't really know a lot about coffee," he said. "Surprise me."

Well, far it be from Draco to pass by such an obvious opportunity. "Your funeral." He proceeded to mix up a large cup of salty caramel espresso with unicorn foam and sparkly polkadot sprinkles. Nobody had ever ordered such a combination before, but Draco could only imagine there was a reason for that.

Potter didn't seem too fazed by the sight of his sparkling, multicolored drink, paying for it without complaint. "What is it?"

Draco told him. "Don't worry, though. I'm pretty sure there's no actual unicorns involved." He tilted his head to the side, smirking. "Or is there?"

"Guess I'll find out, huh?" With that, Potter walked out, sipping at his drink.

He was back the next day, and the next, always right in the middle of Draco's shift. Every day, he asked for a surprise, and every day he drank whatever Draco put in front of him without complaint. Sometimes he'd stay in the shop to finish his drink, sometimes he left right after, but every day, he was there.

Draco was starting to spend an alarming amount of time thinking of the next surprise. Oh well, it passed the time. One of these days he would get Potter to admit that something was just too awful to drink.

So far he hadn't managed to crack the stupidly perfect Boy Who Lived, though, no matter how he tried. He'd tried unbearably sweet, he'd tried bitter like his inner monologue, he'd tried the strangest combinations he could whip up from their menu, yet nothing ever stopped Potter from simply smiling, nodding, and taking his drink. It was really starting to get on his nerves. How could someone be so bloody unflappable?

One day, two months after their first meeting at the coffee shop, Potter didn't show up until near the end of Draco's shift. He looked like he'd rushed over, slightly breathless as he walked up to the counter.

"You're late." Which was a stupid comment, of course, it wasn't like they had a set schedule or anything, but it had been a long day and he was cranky. Since he couldn't take it out on his regular customers, he was going to take it out on Potter, who would probably just smile and nod anyway.

"Sorry, got delayed on the way." Potter shook his head. "Hermione wanted to talk about our book lists, and you know how she gets when she gets going about textbooks."

"Haven't had the pleasure, but I can imagine." Draco shrugged. "So it's true? You're going back to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah. Funny thing, they don't actually let you become an Auror without a diploma." And of course he was going to become an Auror. Of bloody course. "And you? I heard you didn't finish the year."

Draco shrugged, putting on an air of nonchalance. He wasn't sure he succeeded, though. "Not this year, at least. Maybe once things have settled down a bit." He made a face. "I'm not exactly the best loved person around the place, now."

"Ah." That, at least, made Potter falter a bit. "That's too bad."

"Really?" Draco lifted his eyebrows. "Is it really a pity you don't get to spend another year in close proximity to me?"

"Frankly? Yes." And there was that annoying smile again. "Don't give me that look. We both know you're not as bad as you'd like to think."

"We both also know you're pretty much the only reason I'm here and not in Azkaban, so I think you can stop pretending I'm actually a good person."

"Draco." And now Potter looked serious all of a sudden. "You're not a bad person. You're an arrogant prick, sure, but you're not evil. And I'll tell that to anyone who claims otherwise."

"Hmph." No, he was not blushing, that would have been ridiculous. "You want anything to drink, or did you just come in from the rain?" It was a rare sunny day outside, actually, but neither of them was likely to mention that.

Potter smiled again. Of course. "Surprise me."

Well, he really was asking for it. "Go on a date with me." Which was the stupidest thing he had ever said, Draco knew that as soon as the words left his mouth, Potter was straight as an arrow and didn't really like him, but then what was the harm? Soon enough summer would end and Potter would head to Hogwarts and Draco would never ever see him again.

"Sure." And Potter was smiling, he was bloody well smiling, and Draco hadn't even made him a drink yet so he couldn't even claim it was anything he'd ingested.

Well. Maybe his life wasn't all terrible, even if he had been on the losing side.

He still hated his job, though.


End file.
